Noelle Dunphy, a seasoned public relations expert based in New York, recently launched a legal battle against Rudolph Giuliani, the former mayor of NYC and past legal advisor to Donald Trump. She asserts that Giuliani and Trump had discussed the possibility of exchanging presidential pardons for a hefty sum of $2 million each.
As outlined in her legal filings, Dunphy levels a variety of serious accusations against Giuliani. These include sexual harassment, withholding earnings unjustly, and misuse of authority, all during her employment with Giuliani in 2019 and 2020.
Further, Dunphy contends that she experienced various forms of inappropriate conduct at the hands of Giuliani. She even accuses him of pressuring her into carrying out explicit tasks and working without proper attire.
In her litigation, Dunphy refers to an event on February 16, 2019, when Giuliani was serving as personal attorney to Trump. Giuliani was reportedly seeking damaging information about Joe Biden, the ex-vice president who was contemplating a challenge against Trump for the presidency.
Noelle Dunphy accuses Rudy Giuliani of sexual harassment - Related Article -
According to Dunphy, during an examination of email exchanges between Giuliani and Ukrainian representatives, she voiced concerns over whether he should register as a foreign representative in accordance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act. She offered to aid him in completing the required documentation.
Dunphy alleges that Giuliani responded by asking if she was aware of anyone interested in acquiring a pardon, remarking that such pardons were going for $2 million, a sum to be divided equally between him and Trump.
Based on the lawsuit, Giuliani advised Dunphy to direct any potential pardon applicants towards him, circumventing the standard procedure of involving the Pardon Attorney's office. The reasoning provided was to sidestep potential exposure via the Freedom of Information Act.
Trump had a reputation for extending pardons to wealthy or politically connected individuals during his term, frequently bypassing the Pardon Attorney, a DOJ official tasked with evaluating executive mercy pleas and offering recommendations.
Nonetheless, no concrete evidence has emerged to confirm that either Trump or Giuliani accepted money for any presidential pardon granted during Trump's presidency. Dunphy's assertions, however, resonate with a similar accusation made by a different individual who had sought a pardon from Trump.
In an August report, The New York Times unveiled that John Kiriakou, a former CIA agent, had broached the topic of a pardon with Giuliani during a meeting in Washington DC. Kiriakou, who was sentenced to almost three years behind bars in 2012 for revealing classified intel, claimed that an associate of Giuliani had offered his assistance, but for a price. He was allegedly quoted saying, "It's going to cost $2 million — he's going to want two million bucks."
Kiriakou further stated that he declined to pursue a pardon via Giuliani due to the prohibitive cost. He was reported saying, "Two million bucks — are you out of your mind? Even if I had two million bucks, I wouldn't spend it to recover a $700,000 pension."
Ted Goodman, an aide and spokesperson for Giuliani, staunchly denied Dunphy's accusations in a communication to The Independent.
